Manager Mike Matheny was gift to give Shelby Miller the quick hook

Fans can find fault with a major league manager for just about everything he does.

But there is no room to question St. Louis skipper Mike Matheny for his decision Monday night to pull starting pitcher Shelby Miller after five innings.

Miller apparently had a cramp in one of his calves -- it seemed like the right one -- he talked the skipper into letting him finish the fifth frame. But Matheny intercepted Miller as he came into the dugout at the end of the inning and told the rookie hurler to hit the showers.

It's the right move because there is no reasonable reason to fool with the health of such a promising prospect. Yeah, it was just a cramp. But let's remember that Dizzy Dean's career was ruined by him altering his pitching mechanics to compensate for a sore toe.